Portsmouth boss confirms fresh setback for injured winger | OneFootball

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho has provided an update on the fitness of Josh Murphy, with the winger unlikely to be fit for the start of the season.

Murphy has been unavailable for Pompey since April after undergoing surgery on a groin injury, with the Championship side’s 2024/25 player of the year taking longer to recover than first expected.

The 31-year-old has only played two games since December following a foot injury, and is now expected to not return to full training until the end of August. This setback rules out the winger from featuring in Portsmouth’s Carabao Cup First Round clash against West Ham, and the first two matches of the Championship season against QPR and Lincoln City.

An away clash against Bristol City at the end of August might also come too soon for Murphy, as could a home match against Derby. Speaking after a goalless draw against German side Darmstadt, Mousinho spoke on a possible timeframe for a return for the forward.

“Yeah, it’s just sort of ongoing minor niggles with Josh.

“We’re still probably about three weeks away from seeing him back in full training, so it’s a frustrating one.

“I feel like I’m forever kicking the can down the road with him, but there’s very little I can do with that one at the minute, just wait for him to sort of get back to full fitness.”